Date-stamped : 23 Aug97 - 03:10 Sixth Test: England prove perfect victims as Australia scent victory First day of five: England (180 all out) Aus- tralia (77-2) On the first day in broadcasting history that Test match com- mentary was available on the Internet, thou- sands logged on to Test Match Special on Radio Four via the Lord`s site from coun- tries as diverse as Brazil. Lithuania and rthe Solomon Islands. England supporters among them heard naught for their comfort. Eleven weeks ago the home team skittled Aus- tralia for 118 and went on to win the first Test. Winning the toss at last on a hard and very dry pitch at the Oval yesterday, they were will- ing accomplices to some high-class bowling by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, allowing themselves to be bowled out before tea for 180. Despite a dramatic return to the Test team by Philip Tufnell at the scene of his greatest triumph, this will in all proba- bility be the prelude to a fourth successive defeat. McGrath`s seven wickets for 76 bore comparison with Devon Malcolm`s great performance against South Africa here three years ago and a similar example of very straight fast bowling by Michael Holding in 1976. Australia were 77 for two when drizzle brought a prema- ture end to a baffling opening day on a pitch which was not quite the blameless beauty of long Oval traditions. Warne spun the ball a long way, Tufnell got immediate purchase too and short- ly be- fore the weather intervened for the second time, Peter Mar- tin got a ball to leap back over Greg Blewett`s stumps. The pitch was covered throughout Wednesday so for once one had to take on trust the official view that it was a poten- tial batsman`s paradise. England`s strategists, however, must surely have seen how dry it was before sending Robert Croft back to Wales on Tuesday. Not to have played both their spin- ners was foolish. The plan to bolster the batting failed to the extent of the first seven batsmen making 115 between them. Some marginal decisions went against them, but any feelings of injustice must be tempered by the fact that the batsmen had played and missed 18 times even before England lunched in a mood of relative composure at 97 for two. The most ob- vious reason for the failure thereafter, fine bowling apart, was the failure to graft. Once again they batted like gamblers rather than pro- fessionals; like players too used to matches wherein losing your wicket is not a matter of life and death. Taking wickets in his first two overs and spinning his fourth ball a long way out of the rough to bowl Matthew El- liott through a full-blooded off-drive, Tufnell did his best to turn the game the other way. Mark Taylor had fed hungrily on some opening overs of varying length and direction by Devon Malcolm, the leading wicket- taker in first-class cricket this season, but after hitting seven rasping fours his firm clip off his legs was brilliant- ly caught at very close short leg by Adam Hollioake. Once more these were crumbs of comfort for a side whose batting performance bore all the hallmarks of a tired and de- moralised team. It must be stressed, however, how very well Mc- Grath and Warne bowled after Taylor had at last called `tails` in vain. England had everything in their favour: a sunny morn- ing, al- beit a muggy one, a virgin pitch, and Australia without two of their first-choice bowlers. The ball swung a little and, in the hands of the master crafts- man, McGrath, it moved either way off a seam pro- pelled with laser straightness. Michael Kasprowicz, though he bowled a re- deeming second spell which was both testing and un- lucky, was less threatening. But that only hastened the arrival of Warne and the moment that he spun his first ball a long way off a perfect length, the pressure was on from both ends. Mark Butcher`s return to Test cricket looked nervous - what else after losing his place when on an upward curve? - and his at- tempted pull off a ball which pitched outside his off stump was dragged on to the stumps. Two overs later, his fourth, Mc- Grath dismissed Mike Atherton yet again, this time with an off-cutter which took the inside edge. Ten times Eng- land`s captain has been out in this series: seven of them to McGrath. Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart, possible successors, stopped the rot until lunch. Both had trouble from Kasprowicz when he took over from McGrath at the Vauxhall End, but they did suf- ficiently well against Warne to persuade Taylor to give Shaun Young a first chance to bowl his medium-fast stuff in two short spells before and after lunch. He aimed outside the off stump to three slips, and Hussain flailed in vain time and again. The rather dubious leg-before decision which went against Stewart as McGrath cut his first ball after lunch back into his pads was the prelude to further ignominy, masked for 10 more overs by the promising start to Graham Thorpe`s in- nings. Alas, once again his quest for runs became fevered and two overs after Hussain`s 139-minute struggle had ended with an on- drive lofted to mid-on - which is exactly where McGrath and the others had been bowling to get him out - the Surrey left-han- der was bowled leg stump from round the wicket. That was in- ept. Hollioake shouldered arms to a leg-break which pitched middle and barely turned and Mark Ramprakash might have been caught at short leg by the first ball pitched short on his leg stump be- fore he succumbed instead to his second, at short leg, off inside edge and thigh pad. It was another well-conceived wicket for Australia and completed the slide from 97 for two to 132 for seven. Some fine shots by Martin and Andy Caddick, who each hit a six, were like dabs of Vaseline on a first-degree burn. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Nightmare for Atherton By Ian Chappell IF MICHAEL Atherton was contemplating resigning the captaincy, everything that occurred on the first day at the Oval would have confirmed his thinking was correct. Mark Taylor, on the other hand, would have been encouraged by the performance of his depleted attack. Glenn McGrath is a captain`s dream and an opening batsman`s nightmare. Openers make up 30 per cent of his Test dismissals - a statis- tic which explains why not too many opponents make big scores against Australia. McGrath was at it again at the Oval, this time ambushing both openers, and when he dismissed Atherton for the seventh time in the se- ries it gave him the wonderful milestone of 150 Test wickets. His hold over the England captain has gone a long way towards Australia establishing clear supremacy. McGrath keeps his opponents pinned down with accurate pace bowling, occasionally unsettling them with well-directed bounc- ers. He doesn`t move the ball a long way but as he delivers from close to the stumps, the deviation he achieves is ample either to catch the edge or find a tell-tale gap. It was one such off-cutter that did away with Atherton to give McGrath 31 wickets for the series, matching the feat achieved by Den- nis Lillee on his first tour of England. Throughout his career the lanky McGrath has measured up well with the greats of the past and his performance in this Test series would have him vying closely with Ian Healy for the honour of Australia`s best player. He emphasised his importance to the Australian team by running through the England line-up to finish with seven victims and make the absence of Jason Gillespie and Paul Reiffel superfluous. Obviously the London air agrees with McGrath, as his other five-wicket haul was at Lord`s. So dominant was the fast bowler that he now has an outside chance of matching Terry Alder- man`s 1981 Australian record of 42 wickets in a series in Eng- land. He received good support yesterday from Shane Warne, who bowled with great confidence and much thought. Warne totally de- ceived Adam Hollioake, who let a ball which he thought was going to turn crash into middle and off-stump. Warne curved the very first ball he delivered and regularly turned it a long way, providing great encouragement for what lies ahead. The pre-match prediction that England would bat better against a depleted Australian attack completely overlooked the fact that McGrath and Warne are the potent forces in the armoury. Both responded to the challenge and the extra responsibility, pleasing their own captain and further disillusioning the oppo- sition skipper. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Lloyd admits: `We were blown away` By Peter Deeley DAVID LLOYD admitted last night that England "are a team lack- ing in confidence." He added: "We have once again been blown away." The chastened England coach spent half-an-hour in the dressing room after close of play going through the problems of the day. He said it was in part "a dressing-down" but also an effort to encourage the side to look ahead positively to the rest of the game. "Yes, both Michael Atherton and myself feel badly let down by what went on out there in the middle today," said Lloyd. "There is no hiding place for captain or coach. But you have to temper criticism with the belief that we are still in this match." The England coach pin-pointed in particular two areas of weak- ness by the batsmen. "They have been chasing the ball and they haven`t been building partnerships - which is what I was demand- ing of them: the basic things we have talked about. "It was absolutely alarming to see us lose eight wickets in a session and there didn`t seem to be any sign of stopping that de- cline. There looks to me to be a real lack of confidence which I haven`t seen before. "I think these are good players - the best we could select for England - but they are not playing to anything like their poten- tial. "I have been trying to boost their confidence again in the dressing room. It is an agony for me. But that performance wasn`t ac- ceptable." He said Phil Tufnell at least could feel pleased with his day`s work. But Lloyd refused to be drawn on the issue of whether the Mid- dlesex spinner should have played earlier in the series. "Hindsight is a wonderful thing for people in comfortable places" was all he would say. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Batsmen made to struggle by resurgent talent By Ian Chappell AUSTRALIA are clinging to a slight advantage at the Oval after a fascinating day`s play dominated by the resurgence of a fine spin-bowling talent. Australia`s batsmen were made to struggle more than at any other time in the series by some magnificent left-arm spin bowling from Phil Tufnell. Mark Waugh appeared to be finding his fluency for the first time in the series when he was de- ceived by a beautifully flighted ball and was easily taken at silly mid-off. This was no mean achievement by Tufnell as Waugh has the nimblest footwork in the Australian side and is the best equipped to handle good spin bowling. The inspiration provided by Tufnell flowed through to Andrew Caddick at the Vauxhall End and he capped a good spell by trapping Steve Waugh in front. A measure of how well Caddick bowled to his former Somerset team-mate was shown when Waugh took off for a suicidal sin- gle as he played a lifter off the back foot. Waugh quickly re- alised that he was in trouble and the run ended in a headlong dive. This panic had been created by a lengthy spell of good bowling from both ends, which resulted in the bat being beaten a number of times. A good indication of how well England bowled in this period was Ian Healy`s tardiness. Normally the quarter-horse of bat- ting, Healy was reduced to a plodding Clydesdale by the accura- cy and quality of the attack. It was left to Shane Warne to help Australia scrape a lead. Warne is a dangerous tailender because he is prepared to attack from the start of his innings. As it turned out, England`s fielding gave Mike Atherton and Tufnell their biggest headache. Two chances were missed which probably allowed Australia to increase their total by 30 runs - a margin which may prove crucial in a low-scoring match. England seem to be able to match Australia for short periods, but not over a long haul. In this Test it could well be those fielding mistakes which allow Australia to win an extremely tight con- test. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Tufnell shows England the path to success By Christopher Martin-Jenkins at the Oval Second day of five: Australia (218) trail England (180 & 52-3) by 14 runs [LINK] IF Glenn McGrath`s efforts on the first day of this fi- nal Test ranked high in the list of great perfor- mances by a fast bowler, Phil Tufnell`s spin bowling yesterday com- pared with some of the famous spells of slow left-arm ortho- dox. Tireless, rhythmic, patient, shrewd and always in con- trol, he exploited a dry, biscuit-coloured pitch so well for so long that he took seven for 64 as England conceded a first- innings lead of only 38 and hauled themselves back. Australia`s advantage was restored by means of an ex- cellent opening spell of outswing bowling by Michael Kasprow- icz. It removed England`s two most experienced batsmen, Mike Atherton caught in the gully and Alec Stewart lbw, before Shane Warne could get hold of the ball or the lead had been wiped out. When Mark Butcher became the victim of at least the third dubious leg before decision, England were 26 for three and in deep trouble once more. Warne was not the lucky bowler against Butcher, but he was al- most unplayable at times for the rest of an intrigu- ing day, despite twinging a groin muscle during his third over. It is one of the mysteries of the game that so far he has taken on- ly two wickets. Graham Thorpe played him with the utmost skill and occasional daring in company with a vigilant Nasser Hus- sain before the weather intervened for the fourth time in the day and the sixth in a match which can well afford inter- rup- tions. England take a slender lead of 14 into this third morn- ing with all depending on the performance of their overnight pair and two men with every incentive to succeed, Mark Ram- prakash and Adam Hollioake. There was a time in mid-afternoon when Tufnell, who bowled unchanged from the Pavilion End, looked like avoiding any first-innings deficit, but counter-attacking innings of great value by Warne and Ricky Ponting enabled Australia to add 56 for their last three wickets. Warne swept two fours and hit a straight-driven six to spoil just a little what was still the third-best analysis by an England bowler against Aus- tralia at the Oval. Tufnell ran off the field at 4.30pm to a richly de- served standing ovation. His figures in no way flattered him and Aus- tralia would have subsided still more quickly, with- out doubt, had Robert Croft been retained to play Jim Laker to Tufnell`s Tony Lock. It is the final irony of this se- ries that England are discovering a way in which they might just possibly have com- peted on even terms, namely by starting on pitches designed to allow their finger spinners a chance of counter-balancing Warne. Not that, in a relatively wet summer, it would have been as easy to `prepare` dry pitches as it apparently was to ensure that those for the first four Tests started damp. It was for this reason, of course, that Tufnell, having played a full part in England`s successes in New Zealand, al- beit as sec- ond fiddle to Croft, kept being sent home after his selection in the original England party. It takes hind- sight to realise that the strategy for the series was wrong - after all, Tufnell had gone 20 Tests without a five-wicket analy- sis until his superb performance yesterday - but this pitch real- ly should have been better read in advance. Johnny Briggs and Frank Woolley are the only slow left- arm bowlers to have taken 10 wickets in an Oval Test against Australia but Tufnell will have every chance of joining them in the fourth innings here if England can give themselves something to work with. Only Warne`s groin strain and the hope of clearer weather offers them much realistic encour- agement. It was muggy and enervating yesterday when Tufnell re- sumed his mesmerising spell against Greg Blewett and Mark Waugh, with De- von Malcolm, Andrew Caddick and Peter Martin each in turn sup- porting him well from the Vauxhall End. Waugh has had much the better of his duels with Tufnell over the years but this time conditions favoured the bowler and he was caught off a glove at silly point from a ball which spat. Blewett had his problems too, not least against Malcolm and Cad- dick, who both mixed dangerous balls with their cus- tomary loose ones. But the young South Australian hit the only memorable strokes of a morning shortened by rain. First he threaded a drive for four past Atherton at mid-off, then danced out to hit with the spin into the open spaces behind the in-field. They were the only boundaries off Tufnell un- til the late assault by Ponting and Warne. Steve Waugh was his usual positive self, looking ur- gently for quick singles as Australia moved to lunch at 125 for three, but Caddick claimed him leg before to a ball which, like the one which dismissed Stewart the previous day, might have missed the leg stump both for height and width. Ten runs lat- er, Blewett edged a sweep into his front pad and offered Stew- art the chance to take a brilliant, diving catch close to the stumps. Now England were really in business. Ian Healy looked plumb lbw to Caddick before he had scored and spent another 45 minutes over two rather tortured runs. He eventually gave him- self out after an outside edge had landed fortuitously between Stewart`s legs off Tufnell. That brought two Tasmanians together but Shaun Young had re- ceived only two balls in his first Test innings when a ball spat back out of the rough and took his gloves as he tried, unwise- ly, to cut against the break. Caddick helped Tufnell to finish the job after tea with a couple of well-directed yorkers and the bowlers re- mained on top un- til the end. Tomorrow`s ticket-holders should not ex- pect much cricket. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Confidence trick gives Artful Dodger a Dickens of a day By Mark Nicholas THERE are two things to say for a start. We all got the pitch wrong, wildly wrong; from feather bed to terror track in less than a day. Imagine that, experts galore, know-alls all over the shop and not one had a clue. Even the celebrated champion of the world rankings, Steve Waugh, could not make much of batting on it and, as Trevor Bai- ley said im- mortally last summer of Sir Donald Bradman, "he could bat". The other thing to say before we get on to you-know-who is "egg on your face . . ." and it`s the England dressing room who are saying it ". . . see, told you so, get off our backs, it`s darned diffi- cult out there." Well done England! A day in the field to remember, a day of discipline and effi- ciency. It was all Edgbaston again as the full house roared their ap- proval of the show and stood to applaud the unlikeli- est lad off the Oval. Australia all out for 218 and who to thank but the most Artful of Dodgers - a month ago you wouldn`t have had tuppence on Phillip Tufnell getting a game in the series, let alone a hat- ful of wickets in an innings. And when the Dodger does it, he does it big. Re- member the Oval in 1991? Six for 25, Viv Richards and all. Remember Christchurch 1992? Seven for 47, Mar- tin Crowe and all. And why? Because the oxygen of his cricket is confidence. He is an oft-maligned figure who needs to be trusted to play top cat; an urchin who must be encouraged to lord it with the nobs. Give him that sort of backing and he will give you his best. He took five wickets in an innings four times in his first seven Tests and then the Pakistanis, Indians and Sri Lankans got into him and tore apart his confidence. The rehabilitation has stuttered, for he has been an unconvincing international crick- eter ever since. There is something else here too. He is happi- er doing the job by him- self; he responds well to the responsi- bility. A spinner can be a lonely man, chosen to suffocate an end while a glut of seamers hog the stage. And then, at the merest hint of turn he is expected to rip it past the edge and win the game in a trice. "Warney`s turning it square, Tuffers, you`ll have some fun out there when it`s your turn, ho, ho," they will have said. `Great, leave it to me, lads`, Tufnell will have thought to him- self. `One game at the end of the summer and suddenly I`m James Bond.` This is the real test of the spinner`s temperament and the acid test of his nerve. Tufnell passed the test with his colours flying. He was lucky that Andrew Caddick and Devon Malcolm played Fagin so effectively, much as Angus Fraser has done for Tufnell for so long, and must have wondered what damage he might have done in har- ness with Robert Croft. Or did he? Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Tufnell finds the right track By Peter Deeley PHIL TUFNELL cannot count the number of miles he has driven up and down motorways this summer fulfilling the role of England player surplus to requirements in the first five Tests. Each time he was sent home early with the selectors preferring Robert Croft. "All I know is I picked up a bit in expenses," the spinner recalled last night. "Yes it has been a frustrating time, but you just have to keep focused, practising and hoping for the best." But some things never change. After taking seven Australian wickets he hurried up the stairs, "to have a fag and a cup of tea" (Tufnell says he has cut down on cigarettes to about five a day) hoping that the England batsmen would "whack the ball round a bit". That did not quite happen but Tufnell reckons that if England could get a lead of 250, he could put Australia in a lot of trou- ble in the fourth innings. "The pitch is disintegrating a bit more, but I don`t think it will change character all that much." Tufnell had to surmount a personal crisis earlier this year when his wife went into hospital to have their baby daughter Poppy de- livered prematurely. That story had a happy ending but he admitted that "it was a worrying time". The spinner says he would like to carry the Oval pitch around with him. "It started turning early and bounced and there was a bit of rough which I was trying to hit all the time. It was good fun and I was helped by some very good catching." He has no complaints about being omitted from the earlier games. "The other Test pitches this summer were a little bit more green and that probably suited the seamers more than me." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) England rise from ashes By Scyld Berry England (180 & 163) beat Australia (220 & 104) by 19 runs [LINK] IN A MAD Test match fuelled by adrenalin and de- mob hap- piness, England won by 19 runs. It made a glorious finish to the Ashes series, which Australia won 3-2 overall, al- though even such a finale may not be sufficient to persuade Michael Atherton to continue as England`s captain. England`s heroes were Andy Caddick and Phil Tufnell, who bowled magnificently just as England were bewailing their lack of match-winning bowlers. Australia should have knocked off their target of 124 runs with some comfort, even though it was a low-scoring match in which some "positive" umpiring con- tributed to the low aggregates. Shane Warne was something of a hero too, for he bowled with a strained right groin muscle, instead of putting up his feet, as he could have done in a dead rubber. Before the start he exper- imented by hobbling a couple of paces and bowling three overs; and such is his strength of shoulder that he bowled leg-breaks which anyone else on the planet would have been proud of, though rarely risking any variation. England went after the wounded Warne, attacking him for the first time since the Edgbaston Test. But the process cost them two valuable wickets, the first of them Nasser Hussain in the day`s first over, when he went after a leg-break not short enough for cutting. Starting in Zimbabwe last winter, Hussain has made three hundreds in 19 Test innings, which is fine, but made only one other score above 35, which is not fine for a captain. The hounds from hell will be calling for the head of an England captain who goes for three Tests without a score of substance - as Atherton himself has done since Headingley. England prospered, briefly, when Graham Thorpe and Mark Ram- prakash added 79 together. At the start, as the pitch fooled everyone, it was inconceivable the game would have to wait until the third morning for its first 50. The pitch was dry and wearing before it started for want of water, but again the system con- spired against England: Robert Croft would have had a greater chance of playing if he had been at the Oval on Thursday morn- ing, not Abergavenny. In every Test this summer the selectors have had to contend with a Wednesday start in the champi- onship. Thorpe`s batting was a plane above anyone else`s in the match. He has been back to his most belligerent since having a week off before the Trent Bridge Test, whereas Hussain had a notorious NatWest semi-final the day after it and has gone off the boil. England`s cricketers have played too much in the second half of this summer, just as Australia`s played too little in the first half. Throughout Ramprakash`s innings, his counterpart at No 6, Ricky Ponting, had an important part at cover in cutting off the back- foot forces, some of which would have surely got through in county cricket. Warne`s relative inaccuracy allowed Ramprakash some scoring opportunities before lunch, when England were 105 ahead; but back came Glenn McGrath af- terwards for his final spell of the series, though wicketless, to partner Warne and to dry up England`s runs to 15 in the half-hour after lunch. To this pressure England`s bat- ting succumbed, for the final time. Ram- prakash, on a turning wicket, against a still formidable Warne, went to drive a six into the old pavilion never to return. Michael Kasprowicz re- placed McGrath at the Vauxhall End and cleaned up the last three wickets in an over which was not the highlight of Eng- land`s summer. But the subsequent tumble of Australian wickets will linger through the autumn. Of the 124 that Australia needed to make, on- ly 100 remained by the time Tufnell came on for the seventh over. But already Matthew Elliott, the leading run- scorer in the series, had padded up to Devon Malcolm`s third ball and mad- ness was abroad. Only 88 runs had still to be found by Australia when their captain was dismissed for probably the final time. Cam- mie Smith, the ICC match referee, can overlook Mark Tay- lor`s gesture that he had hit the ball in view of three years of impec- cable service to Australia and to cricket. He has no challenger as the finest captain since World Series Cricket. When Mark Waugh was caught at slip, his series aggre- gate of 209 ended up lower than Atherton`s or Alec Stewart`s. When Greg Blewett was given out caught behind by Lloyd Barker, though replays indicated that the ball brushed pad rather than bat, Aus- tralia had 75 to win and only six wickets left. One of them was the big one, Steve Waugh, caught on the back foot. Caddick was inspired as never for England before, charging in when his team needed him as the partner for Tufnell and as wicket-taker in his own right. Ian Healy slashed at the first two balls he received from Cad- dick before he had controlled his adrenalin. If ei- ther had gone to bat`s edge and hand, the momentum would have been as- suredly with England: 70 to win with four wickets left the equation would have been, some task for Ponting and the tail. But Healy stayed and swung Tufnell to leg, and an over from Tufnell was hit for 10 runs, and Caddick went ever wider in the crease and speared down legside, so that Barker`s fin- ger was not raised so readily. Ponting and Healy added 34 in brisk time. Atherton re- mained cool and understated while panic gnawed at almost ev- eryone watching. The calmness makes him a good captain of a good side, and rather too passive when in command of a poor one. Ponting made the ninth lbw victim of the match when Tufnell turned one to hit his back pad. Hope surged again, and adrenalin too, for Healy drove Caddick square for four then chipped back to the bowler who juggled with the ball and much else besides before clutching the former at the third attempt. Warne came out with a runner and, after facing five balls, departed with one. He went to slog Tufnell straight but, im- peded, his weight fell away to leg and Peter Martin ran back with the sun to cope with and all the pressure, but swallowed it with relief. Three wickets had fallen in as many overs, and when McGrath chipped Tuffnell to Thorpe at mid-off Eng- land had pulled off an unlikely victory. The early finish to the Test will cost English cricket in the region of -L500,000. All 16,500 tickets were sold for today and ticket holders will get a full refund. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) One last hurrah does not make a summer By Peter Roebuck AN EXTRAORDINARY clatter of wickets on the last afternoon of this series restored English optimism to a height not seen since the heady days of May. Bowling and fielding with the ut- most verve, Eng- land imposed themselves upon their weakened op- ponents. Unlikely heroes were found in Andrew Caddick and Phil Tufnell, men still fresh in the autumn of a long season. Nevertheless, this day`s cricket could not disguise the fact that Australia had proved themselves a superior side. In truth Steve Waugh`s innings in Manchester was decisive, and deservedly so, because it must count among the great efforts of the age. Waugh showed a tough- ness and a technique beyond anyone in the home team. To add the contributions of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne was to form a formidable foe. England played with heart, but could not muster the head or the craftsmanship to match their oppo- nents when it mattered. England remain a soft touch at critical times. As much could be told from the most perturbing moment of this match. At 10 min- utes past two, the game hung in the balance. No one could fore- see the events to follow. England had secured a lead of 120 runs, and had four wickets left. Another 100 was needed. Mark Ramprakash was in occupation with Andrew Caddick swatting away in support. Nothing much had happened since tea, a few wasps cut down by Caddick, a nibble or two from the restored London- er. McGrath had finished his spell and had retired to long leg, green cap cov- ering the haircut of a medieval monk. Michael Kasprowicz was keeping his end tight with his off-cutters. Most- ly, it was Warne, still trou- bled by his sore shoulder, and now so inconvenienced by a dicky groin that he could only roll down his leg breaks. Everything depended upon Ramprakash, who has been captaining Middlesex with the utmost maturity. He played well, surviving as others perished. A part of his attraction and part of his per- il is that he puts his entire being at stake, lives rather than merely bats at the popping crease. He needed a score. And then he charged at Warne. Down the pitch he took with him all his cares, his entire career, all gambled upon this throw. Down the pitch he took with him the faults of English batting, and the pover- ty of its coaching. Few Englishmen are taught to leave their crease against spin, and the basics of the craft, left shoulder and top hand, are insufficiently instilled. Appar- ently the game has changed. Our youngsters are taught to rely up- on their bottom hand. Ramprakash also took with him the dancing devils of his own mind. His instincts had been right. Nothing was to be gained by sitting upon the slice. His colleagues could not survive upon this rogue pitch. But it is not necessary always to charge the cannons. It is a ques- tion of odds, a matter of cool calcula- tion. Hardly a batsman has moved his feet to Warne and prospered and certainly not a right-hander on a turning pitch. Shivnarine Chanderpaul enjoyed a glorious sally in Sydney, but it didn`t last, and anyhow, he`s a left-hander, and could use his pads in an emergency. Nevertheless Ramprakash decided to advance. Nor did he move stealthily down the pitch, covering the ball and his stumps. In- stead he drifted to leg, presumably hoping to loft the ball over the bowler`s head. At some point on his journey he must have scented danger. He must have realised he was in trouble. But he did not attempt to stop the ball, surviving to fight another day. He swung at it lustily, and he swung at air, whereupon Ian Healy removed the bails with his custom- ary efficiency. In its way, it was as bad a mistake as Adam Hollioake had made in the first innings, or Alec Stewart in Manchester. And this is the cream of English batting. It was the end for Ramprakash and the end for England`s bat- ting too. Hereafter they resisted with all the devotion seen in an episode of `Allo `Allo, a horrible feeling arose that England might re- gret these moments of recklessness. No mat- ter how hard a team fight they cannot afford such unnecessary losses. Their opponents had been wounded but their wounds were not yet fatal. Accordingly, England were left to defend a paltry to- tal, a task they set about with immense determination. Crumbs of comfort could be found in the stirring deeds that took England to this belated victory. Tufnell contributed his best spell in years, bowling over and round the wicket with un- failing opti- mism. He is a man wearing a raincoat on a dark street corner, fag in hand, at odds with the world, and easy with himself. Mark Ealham was somewhat missed. A steadying hand in a capricious team. Only the bat- ting disappointed again. As Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh could con- firm, it`s been a hard series for the batsmen. A feeling grows that En- glishmen must return to the basics of left shoulder and straight bat, or else face further embarrassments at the hands of Test bowlers. It`s not enough to start and finish well, it`s the main course that counts. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)